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V 


‘I 


( 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


^■^rte^jffllusitratttijltpnostap^ 


Among  the  artists  to  be  considered  during  the  current,  1905, 
Volume  may  be  mentioned  Fra  Filippo  Lippi,  Sir  Henry  Rae- 
burn, Jan  Steen,  Claude  Lorrain,  and  Chardin,  The  numbers 
of  ‘ Masters  in  Art ' which  have  already  appeared  in  1905  are : 

Part  61,  J ANUAR  Y 
Part  6z,  FEBRUARY 
PART63,  MARCH 


WATTS 
. PALMA  VECCHIO 
MADAME  VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


PART  64,  THE  ISSUE  FOR 

april 

WILL  TREAT  OF 

iW^antegna 


NUMBERS  ISSUED  IN  PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 
OF  ‘MASTERS  IN  ART’ 

VOL.  1.  VOL.  2. 


Part  i.- 
Pakt  z.’ 
Part  3.- 
Part  4.- 
Part  5.- 
Part  6.- 
Part  7.- 
Part  8.- 
Part  9.- 
Part  10.- 
Part  II.- 
Part  12.- 


-VAN  DYCK 

-TITIAN 

-VELASQUEZ 

-HOLBEIN 

-BOTTICELLI 

-REMBRANDT 

-REYNOLDS 

-MILLET 

-GIO.  BELLINI 

-MURILLO 

-HALS 

-RAPHAEL 

* Sculpture 


Part  13.- 
Pakt  14.- 
Paut  15.- 
Part  16.- 
Pakt  17.- 
Part  18.- 
Pakt  19.- 
Part  20.- 
Pakt  21.- 

PART  22.- 

Part  23.- 
Part  24.- 
•fPain 


-RUBENS 
-DA  VINCI 
-DURER 

•MICHELANGELO* 
-MICHELANGELO! 
-COROT 
-BURNE-JONES 
-TER  BORCH 
-DELLA  ROBBIA 
-DEL  SARTO 
-GAINSBOROUGH 
-CORREGGIO 
ting 


VOL.  3.  VOL.  4. 

Paktzj. — PHIDIAS  Part  37. — ROMNEY 

Part  26.— PERUGINO  Part  38.— FRA  ANGELICO 
Part  27. — HOLBEIN  § Part  39. — WATTEAU 
Part  28.— TINTORETTO  Part  40.— RAPHAEL* 

Part  29. — P.  deHOOCH  Part  41. — DONATELLO 
Part  30.— NATTIER  Part  42.— GERARD  DOU 

Part  31.— PAUL  POTTER  Part  43.— CARPACCIO 
Part  32.— GIOTTO  Part  44.— ROSA  BONHEUR 

Part  33.— PR AXITELES  Part  4;.— GUIDO  RENI 
Part  34. — HOGARTH  Part  46. — P.  deCHAVANNES 

Part  35.— TURNER  Part  47.— GIORGIONE 

Part  36.— LUINI  Part  48.— ROSSETTI 

§ Drawing!  * Frticol 


VOL.  5. 


Part  49, 
Part  50, 
Part  51, 
Part  52, 
Part  53, 
Part  54, 
Part  55, 
Part  56, 
Part  57, 
Part  58, 
Part  59, 
Part  60, 


JANUARY 
FEBRUARY 
MARCH 
APRIL 
MAY 
JUNE 
JULY 
AUGUST 
SEPTEMBER 
OCTOBER 
NOVEMBER 
DECEMBER 


FRA  BARTOLOMMEO 
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LOTTO 
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VERMEER  OF  DELFT 
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MASTERS  IN  ART 


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and  LETTERING 


An  Illustrated  Treatise,  by  Frank  Cho- 
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MASTEBS  IX  AKT  PLATE  I 

PHOTOGRAPH  er  8RAUN,  CLEMENT  4.  CIE 

[«7] 


VJGEE  LE  BBUX' 

3JOBTBAIT  OF  MADAME  MOLE-B  A V MOXD 
LOU VBK,  PABIS 


MASTEHS  IX  AUT  PLATE  II 

8V  8RAUN,  CLEMENT  4 C1E 

[so  J 


PHOTOQRi 


VIGEE  LE  miUN 

MAKIP]  AXTOrXET'JE  AXJ)  1II:K  CHrLJJKEX 
PALACE  OF  VEKSAILLKS 


MASTILRS  IX  AKT  PLATE  III 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  A CIE 

[oi] 


VIGEE  LE  BPUX 

POKTKAIT  OF  THE  COMTE  IJE  VAUmiEtliri 
PKIVATE  COLLECTIOX,  PAHIS 


MASTEBS  IX  ABT  PLATE  TV 

APH  BY  BRAUN,  CL^WENT  A CIE 

[93] 


PmOTOQRi 


TIGEE  LE  BKUX 

MADAME  VJGEE  LE  3U<UX  AND  IIEli  DAUGIITEK 
LOUVBE,  PAKIS 


MASTEHS  IX  ART  PLATE  V 

PH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CIE 

[95] 


tOTOORAl 


VI GEE  LE  BRUX 
PORTRAIT  OF  HUBP^RT  ROHERT 
LOUVRE,  PARIS 


MASTEHS  IX  AKT  PLATE  VI 
Photograph  by  braun,  clement  & cie 

[97] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUX 

PORTRAIT  OE  MADAME  VIGEE  BE  BRTJX 
UFFIZI  GALLERT,  FLORENCE 


MASTEH^  IX  AKT 

PhOTOOKAPH  by  BRAUN,  Cl 

[sn>J 


PEATK  VII 
lIuent  & CIE 


VIGEE  LE  J3RUX 

PORTRAIT  OF  THE  MARQUISE  BE  JACCOURT 
mvXEB  JiY  tup:  MAJ{QUIS  be  .TAUCOURT,  PARIS 


MASTEKS  IX  ART 


APH  BY  BRAUN, 

[lov] 


PHOTOGR- 


PT.ATE  VIII 

CL^MeNT  A CIE 


VIGEE  LE  33RUX 

PORTRAIT  OF  MARIE  AXTOTXETTE 
PARAGE  OF  VERSAILLES 


MASTKRS  IX  AKT  PLATE  IX 


PMOTOOBArH  BY  BRAUN, CL^yENT  A CIE 

[ 103] 


VIGEE  EE  UKEN 

POHTEAIT  OF  STANISLAUS  AUGUSTUS  PONIATOWSKI 
LOUVHE,  PAKIS 


H 


^ ft 


a q 

O ft 


ft 

ft 


S 


ASTE-RS  Ij>f  AKT  PLATE  X 

PHOTOGRAPH  at  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & ClE 

[ 103  ] 


POHTRAIT  OF  MADAME  TIGER  EE  BRUX  BT  HERSEEF 
ACADKMT  OF  ST.  ELTJ£E,  ROME 

Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  painted  at  least  twenty  portraits  of  herself.  The  one 
here  reproduced  was  executed  in  Rome  in  1789  or  1790  for  the  Academy  of  St. 
Luke  in  that  city,  of  which  she  was  elected  a member.  The  artist  was  then 
about  thirty-four  years  old. 


[.1.0(3] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


JWlar(t'2lotti!5it=iSUsatiett|  TiQtt  He  i^vun 

KNOWN  AS 

TiQtt  %t  i$nin 

BORN  1755:  DIED  1842 
FRENCH  SCHOOL 


MARIE-LOUISE-ELISABETH  VIGEE,  better  known  under  her  mar- 
ried name  of  Le  Brun,  and  generally  spoken  of  as  Madame  Vigee  Le 
Brun,  was  born  in  Paris  on  April  i6,  1755.  Her  father,  Louis  Vigee,  was  a 
pastel  painter  of  moderate  talent,  devoted  to  his  art  and  always  ready  to  com- 
mend and  encourage  his  daughter’s  talent.  In  those  ‘Souvenirs’  in  which 
Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  has  recorded  the  incidents  of  her  life,  she  tells  us  that 
her  love  for  painting  had  already  declared  Itself  when,  as  a child  of  six,  she  was 
sent  to  a convent  school,  where  she  was  in  constant  disgrace  with  her  teachers 
because  she  decorated  her  copy-books  and  those  of  her  schoolmates,  and  even 
the  walls  of  the  dormitory,  with  faces  and  landscapes  in  colored  chalks.  On 
one  occasion,  when  at  home  on  a holiday,  she  drew  by  lamplight  a vigorous 
little  sketch  of  the  head  of  a man,  which  so  delighted  her  father  that  he  ex- 
claimed, “You  will  be  a painter,  my  child,  if  ever  there  was  one!”  These 
words  Elisabeth  Vigee  never  forgot,  and  that  childish  drawing,  made  when 
she  was  but  seven  or  eight  years  old,  was  cherished  by  her  as  long  as  she  lived. 

When  she  was  eleven  Elisabeth’s  education  was  considered  complete.  To 
her  great  delight  she  then  left  school  for  good,  and  returned  to  her  home, 
“overjoyed,”  she  writes,  “at  not  having  to  leave  my  parents  again.”  The 
atmosphere  of  the  household  was  artistic  and  the  child  had  every  opportunity 
to  indulge  her  natural  tastes.  The  painter  Doyen,  an  intimate  friend  of  her 
father’s,  helped  her  in  her  efforts  to  draw,  and  Davesne,  a professor  at  the 
Academy  of  St.  Luke,  asked  to  be  allowed  to  give  her  lessons.  The  lessons 
do  not  seem  to  have  amounted  to  much,  for  beyond  a few  suggestions  as  to 
setting  her  palette  Elisabeth  was  allowed  to  follow  her  own  devices. 

These  were  happy  days  for  the  little  girl;  she  spent  many  hours  in  her 
father’s  studio  experimenting  to  her  heart’s  content  with  his  crayons,  and  duti- 
fully accompanied  her  mother,  who,  we  are  told,  was  “good  to  the  point  of 

[107] 


24 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


austerity,”  to  high  mass  and  to  evening  prayer.  She  took  pride  in  the  clever- 
ness of  her  brother,  three  years  younger  than  herself,  and  assures  us  with  naive 
frankness  that  he  was  much  prettier  than  she.  Indeed,  at  that  time  Elisabeth, 
from  her  own  account,  was  far  from  beautiful;  her  eyes,  she  says,  were  deep- 
set,  her  face  was  pale  and  thin,  and,  moreover,  she  was  growing  so  fast  that 
she  could  not  hold  herself  erect. 

All  this  was  a trial  to  her  mother,  who  showed  a marked  preference  for  her 
younger  child,  whom  she  spoiled  with  indulgences,  whereas  with  Elisabeth 
she  was  strict  and  even  severe.  The  father’s  love  and  devotion,  however,  were 
unremitting,  and  in  return  Elisabeth  lavished  upon  him  the  tenderest  affec- 
tion. Her  grief,  therefore,  was  great  when,  in  May,  1768,  her  father  died. 
She  was  then  thirteen  years  old.  “So  heartbroken  was  I,”  she  writes,  “that 
it  was  long  before  I felt  equal  to  taking  up  my  pencil  again.  Doyen  used  to 
come  to  see  us  sometimes,  and  as  he  had  been  my  father’s  best  friend  his  visits 
were  a comfort.  It  was  he  who  urged  me  to  resume  the  occupation  I loved, 
and  in  which,  to  tell  the  truth,  I found  the  only  consolation  for  my  grief.” 

In  order  to  distract  her  daughter’s  mind  from  the  sorrowful  thoughts  upon 
which  the  girl  constantly  dwelt,  Madame  Vigee  used  to  take  her  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg Palace  to  see  Rubens’s  works,  then  in  a gallery  there,  and  to  various 
private  collections  of  pictures  where  specimens  of  the  old  masters  were  ex- 
hibited. “As  soon  as  I entered  one  of  these  galleries,”  she  writes,  “I  imme- 
diately became  just  like  a bee,  so  eagerly  did  I gather  in  knowledge  that  would 
be  of  use  to  me  in  my  art,  and  so  intoxicated  with  bliss  was  I in  studying  these 
works  of  the  great  painters.” 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Elisabeth  began  to  paint  from  nature.  Several  por- 
traits, in  pastels  and  in  oils,  were  accomplished,  and  to  improve  herself  she 
copied  some  of  Rubens’s,  Rembrandt’s,  and  Van  Dj'^ck’s  pictures,  and  several 
heads  of  young  girls  by  Greuze  which  she  thought  offered  a good  lesson  in 
flesh-painting. 

She  was  already  beginning  to  be  noticeable  for  the  beauty  which  was  one 
of  her  charms  in  after-years,  and  was  even  now  a source  of  gratification  to 
her  mother,  who  saw  with  pride  the  plain,  pale-faced  child  developing  into  a 
fair  and  blooming  young  woman.  Her  progress  in  art  was  rapid,  she  was 
already  talked  about  to  some  extent,  and  her  name  became  known  to  various 
painters  prominent  in  that  day,  among  whom  was  Joseph  Vernet.  He  gave 
her  cordial  encouragement  and  earnestly  advised  her  to  follow  no  school 
system,  but  to  study  only  the  works  of  the  great  Italian  and  Flemish  masters, 
and,  above  all,  to  turn  to  nature — “the  first  and  best  of  all  teachers.”  This 
counsel,  Elisabeth  says,  she  faithfully  followed,  and  was  never  indebted  to 
any  one  master  for  her  instruction. 

Success  came  to  her  very  early  in  life,  and  at  fifteen  she  was  already  earning 
so  much  money  as  a portrait-painter  that  she  contributed  largely  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  family,  left  penniless  at  her  father’s  death.  But  with  all  her  coura- 
geous efforts  it  was  difficult  to  meet  the  household  expenses  and  to  defray  the 
cost  of  clothing  and  schooling  for  her  brother,  and  before  very  long  Madame 
Vigee,  prompted  thereto,  it  may  be,  by  a wish  to  assist  her  daughter  in  her 
struggles  to  support  the  family,  decided  to  marry  a rich  jeweler.  Monsieur  Le 

[108] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


25 


Sevre  by  name,  who,  however,  soon  proved  himself  so  penurious  that  his  wife 
and  stepchildren  found  themselves  reduced  to  the  bare  necessities  of  life,  al- 
though Elisabeth  handed  over  to  him  everything  she  earned  by  her  brush. 
Joseph  Vernet  and  other  friends,  indignant  at  the  manner  in  which  she  was 
thus  defrauded,  begged  her  to  grant  merely  an  allowance  to  her  parents  and 
to  keep  the  rest  of  her  earnings  for  herself;  but  fear  lest  her  mother  should  be 
made  to  suffer  for  any  such  action  deterred  her  from  adopting  this  measure. 

At  this  time  Elisabeth’s  home  in  Paris  was  in  the  rue  Saint-Honore  opposite 
the  terrace  of  the  Palais  Royal,  which  her  windows  overlooked.  In  the  garden 
of  the  palace  she  frequently  saw  the  Duchesse  de  Chartres  walking  with  her 
ladies-in-waiting,  and  before  long  the  young  girl  discovered  that  she  herself 
was  in  her  turn,  and  with  the  kindliest  interest,  observed  by  tbe  duchess,  who 
finally  sent  for  her  and  asked  her  to  paint  her  portrait,  recommending  her  also 
to  many  of  the  court  ladies,  who  forthwith  visited  the  studio  in  the  rue  Saint- 
Honore  and  commissioned  Elisabeth  to  paint  their  portraits.  No  doubt  the 
youth  and  beauty  of  the  artist  did  much  towards  making  her  the  fashion  she 
now  became,  and  as  she  was  charming  in  manner  as  well  as  fair  of  face,  and 
was,  moreover,  gifted  with  a quick  and  ready  wit,  many  of  the  gay  young 
courtiers  who  became  her  sitters  openly  expressed  their  admiration,  somewhat 
to  her  annoyance.  “It  may  readily  be  supposed,”  she  writes,  “that  some  ad- 
mirers of  my  face  gave  me  commissions  to  paint  theirs  in  the  fond  hope  that 
they  might  in  this  way  win  my  good  graces;  but  I was  so  absorbed  in  my  art 
that  nothing  could  distract  me  from  it,  and  as  soon  as  I detected  any  inclina- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  gentlemen  who  sat  for  me  to  make  sheep’s  eyes  at  me, 
I used  to  paint  them  looking  in  another  direction,  and  then  at  the  least  move- 
ment of  their  pupils  towards  me  I would  cry,  ‘Now  I am  doing  the  eyes!’ 
This  was,  of  course,  rather  trying  to  them,  and  my  mother,  who  was  always 
present,  used  to  laugh  quietly  to  herself.” 

These  were  busy  days  for  the  young  artist,  who  found  her  brush  in  such  de- 
mand that  she  could  with  difficulty  execute  the  commissions  which  poured  in 
upon  her.  On  Sundays  and  saints’  days  she  allowed  herself  a little  rest,  and 
on  those  occasions,  after  hearing  high  mass,  she  tells  how  her  mother  and  step- 
father would  take  her  to  walk  in  the  beautiful  gardens  of  the  Palais  Royal, 
where  the  fashionable  world,  arrayed  m its  best,  was  wont  to  disport  itself,  and 
where  her  beauty  attracted  much  attention.  At  that  time  the  opera-house  was 
close  to  the  palace,  and  at  half  past  eight  on  summer  evenings,  when  the  per- 
formance was  over,  every  one  adjourned  to  the  gardens,  where  singing  and  in- 
strumental music  were  continued  until  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  Paris 
was  light-hearted  and  careless  in  those  years  preceding  the  terrible  Revo- 
lution of  1789,  so  soon  to  break  forth  in  all  its  horrors,  but  so  little  suspected 
then  by  the  frivolous  world  of  fashion. 

From  the  time  she  was  fifteen,  Elisabeth  was  much  sought  after  in  the  most 
distinguished  society.  Princes  and  dukes  showed  her  marked  favor;  all  the 
celebrated  artists  were  numbered  among  her  acquaintances,  as  well  as  men 
of  letters  and  those  who  had  attained  celebrity  on  the  stage.  But  none  of  the 
social  functions  at  which  she  was  made  welcome  could  induce  her  to  neglect 
her  work;  in  that  her  interest  continued  unabated. 


[109] 


26 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


In  the  autumn  of  1774,  when  she  was  nineteen,  she  was  elected  a member 
of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke.  Soon  after  this  she  became  acquainted  with 
Jean-Baptiste-Pierre  Le  Brun,  a well-known  picture  dealer  who  was  looked 
upon  in  that  day  as  one  of  the  first  connoisseurs  of  paintings  in  Europe.  He 
showed  conspicuous  attention  to  the  young  girl,  inviting  her  to  visit  his  rare 
collection  of  works  of  the  old  masters,  and  lending  her  many  of  his  most  pre- 
cious specimens  in  order  that  she  might  copy  them.  At  the  end  of  six  months 
he  asked  for  her  hand  in  marriage,  and  Elisabeth,  although  far  from  wishing 
to  become  his  wife,  was  persuaded  after  much  indecision  and  many  misgivings 
to  accept  his  offer,  led  thereto  by  the  urgent  desire  of  her  mother,  and  still 
more  induced  by  her  own  longing  to  escape  from  the  misery  of  living  with 
her  stepfather.  “But  so  little  did  I feel  inclined  to  sacrifice  my  liberty,”  she 
writes,  “that  even  on  the  way  to  church  I kept  saying  to  myself;  ‘Shall  I say 
“yes,”  or  shall  I say  “no”.?’  Alas,”  she  adds,  “I  said  ‘yes,’  and  thereby 
merely  exchanged  present  troubles  for  others.” 

In  short,  Le  Brun,  a man  many  years  older  than  she,  although  agreeable 
enough  in  manner,  proved  a spendthrift  and  a dissipated  gambler,  who,  having 
made  way  with  his  own  fortune,  felt  no  scruples  in  spending  all  the  earnings 
of  his  young  wife,  whom  he  seems  to  have  married  in  order  to  obtain  an  easy 
means  of  support.  At  his  request  the  marriage  was  for  some  time  kept  se- 
cret, and  many  friends  of  the  bride’s,  unaware  that  the  event  had  been  con- 
summated, took  occasion  to  warn  her  against  a step  which  they  well  knew 
would  cause  her  nothing  but  unhappiness.  Alas,  that  these  warnings  should 
have  come  too  late!  Elisabeth  Vigee  was  already  Madame  Le  Brun,  and 
only  too  soon  did  she  learn  for  herself  that  the  misery  predicted  for  her  by 
her  friends  was  indeed  hers.  Fortunately,  absorption  in  her  art  and  a nat- 
urally buoyant  disposition  enabled  her  to  bear  her  lot. 

At  the  desire  of  her  husband  that  their  income  should  be  increased  she  now 
consented  to  give  lessons  in  painting,  but  this  expenditure  of  her  time  and 
strength  was  so  distasteful  to  her  that  she  soon  abandoned  it  for  her  beloved 
portrait-painting.  “The  number  of  portraits  I painted  at  this  time,”  she  says, 
“was  really  prodigious.” 

As  the  f^ashionable  painteu  of  the  day  Madame  Le  Brun’s  name  was  in 
every  one’s  mouth,  and  verse  as  well  as  prose  was  employed  to  eulogize  her 
talents  and  her  personal  charms.  Once  when  she  was  present  at  a meeting  of 
the  French  Academy  on  the  occasion  of  La  Harpe’s  discourse  on  the  talents 
of  women,  the  poet,  when  he  came  to  the  somewhat  extravagant  words; 

“Le  Brun,  the  model  and  the  painter  of  beauty, 

A modern  Rosalba,  but  more  brilliant  than  she. 

Unites  the  voice  of  Favart  with  the  smile  of  Venus,” 

turned  towards  the  object  of  his  praise,  and  at  once  the  audience,  including 
the  Duchesse  de  Chartres  and  the  King  of  Sweden,  rose  to  their  feet,  and, 
turning  in  her  direction,  applauded  her  with  enthusiasm,  so  that  she  was  al- 
most overcome  with  confusion.” 


[110] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


27 


But  all  these  pleasures  of  gratified  vanity  were,  she  assures  us,  as  nothing 
compared  with  the  joy  she  felt  when  in  1780  her  child  was  born- — -the  little 
girl,  Jeanne-Julie-Louise,  whom  she  has  represented  in  more  than  one  of  her 
pictures  clasped  in  her  own  loving  embrace. 

In  1779  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  painted  the  first  of  her  many  portraits  of 
Queen  Marie  Antoinette,  whose  favorite  painter  she  became  and  with  whom 
she  was  always  on  a footing  of  affectionate  intimacy.  At  the  first  sitting,  it  is 
true,  the  artist  was  somewhat  intimidated  by  tbe  imposing  air  of  the  queen, 
but  this  impression  was  soon  dissipated  by  Marie  Antoinette’s  graciousness, 
and  we  are  told  of  the  duets  that  were  sung  by  the  royal  model  and  the  painter 
at  the  close  of  the  morning  seance,  for  the  queen  dearly  loved  music  and 
Madame  Le  Brun  had  a charming  voice. 

One  day  illness  prevented  Madame  Le  Brun  from  keeping  her  appointment 
at  the  palace,  and  when  on  the  following  morning  she  went  to  Versailles  to 
make  her  apologies,  she  was  coldly  received  by  one  of  the  chamberlains,  who 
reminded  her  that  the  previous  day  had  been  that  appointed  for  the  sitting, 
and  that  as  the  queen  was  then  about  to  go  out  to  drive  be  was  sure  nothing 
could  be  arranged  for  that  day.  When  admitted  to  the  royal  presence,  how- 
ever, she  found  the  queen  far  more  ready  than  the  chamberlain  to  excuse 
her  remissness.  Upon  learning  that  Madame  Le  Brun  had  been  ill,  and 
had  come  then  only  to  offer  apologies  and  to  receive  further  commands,  she 
begged  the  artist  not  to  go,  revoked  the  order  for  her  carriage,  and  willingly 
gave  Madame  Le  Brun  a sitting.  “I  remember,”  says  the  painter,  ‘‘that  in 
my  confusion,  and  my  eagerness  to  make  a suitable  reply  to  all  this  kindness, 
I picked  up  my  paint-box  so  excitedly  that  it  upset,  and  all  my  brushes  and 
crayons  were  spilled  upon  the  floor!  As  I stooped  to  pick  them  up  the  queen 
said,  ‘Never  mind,  never  mind,’  and  in  spite  of  anything  that  I could  say,  she 
gathered  them  all  up  herself.” 

In  addition  to  her  portraits  of  the  queen,  Madame  Le  Brun  painted  those 
of  all  the  royal  family,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  the  Comte  d’Artois. 
While  at  work  upon  the  one  of  “Monsieur,”  brother  of  the  king  and  after- 
wards Louis  XVIII.,  she  has  told  us  that  the  prince,  whose  conversation  was 
always  witty  and  entertaining,  liked  to  vary  the  sittings  by  singing  songs  which 
were  not  so  pleasing  as  his  talk,  and  were  rendered  less  so  by  a voice  by  no 
means  true.  “ How  do  you  think  I sing  ? ” he  asked  one  day.  “ Like  a prince, 
your  Highness,”  was  tbe  quick  reply. 

In  1782  Madame  Le  Brun  accompanied  her  husband  upon  a business  trip 
into  Belgium  and  Holland.  She  writes  enthusiastically  of  all  that  she  saw  m 
the  way  of  art  in  those  countries,  and  was  so  struck  by  tbe  beauty  of  Rubens’s 
picture  ‘Le  chapeau  de  paille’  (The  Straw  Hat),  then  in  Antwerp,  that  she 
at  once  painted  a portrait  of  herself  in  a similar  style.  The  picture,  which,  like 
its  prototype,  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery,  London,  added  considerably  to 
her  reputation,  and  was  the  occasion,  upon  her  return  to  Paris,  of  her  being 
proposed  by  Joseph  Vernet  as  a member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Painting. 
This  honor  was  conferred  upon  Madame  Le  Brun  in  1783,  and  for  her  re- 

[111] 


28 


MASTERS  I N ART 


ception  picture  she  painted  ‘ Peace  bringing  Plenty’  (plate  x).  As  a mem- 
ber of  the  Academy  she  was  now  accorded  the  privilege  of  exhibiting  her 
works  at  the  Salon,  a privilege  which  in  those  days  belonged  exclusively  to 
academicians. 

Madame  Le  Brun  lived  at  this  time  in  the  rue  de  Clery,  Paris,  where  her 
husband  occupied  large  and  richly  furnished  rooms  in  which  he  kept  his  valu- 
able collection  of  pictures;  she  herself  was  relegated  to  a small  anteroom  and 
a simply  furnished  bedroom  which  served  also  for  her  drawing-room.  There 
she  received  her  numerous  visitors,  and  gave  her  famous  evening  parties  to 
which  all  were  so  eager  to  come  that  the  little  room  was  frequently  crowded 
to  overflowing;  even  marshals  of  France,  she  says,  were  obliged  to  sit  on  the 
floor  for  want  of  chairs!  Great  musicians  furnished  the  music  on  these  occa- 
sions, and  famous  actors  took  part  in  the  impromptu  charades  given  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  guests.  At  ten  o’clock  a simple  supper  was  served,  and 
at  midnight  the  company  dispersed.  On  one  memorable  occasion  a repast 
after  the  manner  of  the  ancient  Greeks  was  devised,  the  idea  for  the  entertain- 
ment being  suggested  to  the  hostess  by  her  brother’s  reading  of  ‘Anacharsis,’ 
in  which  a Grecian  dinner  is  minutely  described.  The  cook  was  at  once  sum- 
moned and  instructed  how  to  prepare  the  viands,  the  ladies  hastily  arrayed 
themselves  in  Greek  costumes,  the  materials  for  which  were  furnished  by  the 
studio  belongings  of  Madame  Le  Brun,  similar  costumes  were  improvised  for 
the  men,  Etruscan  pottery  was  borrowed  from  one  of  the  guests,  hanging 
lamps  were  appropriately  arranged,  and  at  half  past  nine  all  was  in  readiness  to 
surprise  two  late  comers,  the  Comte  de  Vaudreuil  and  Monsieur  Boutin,  who 
upon  entering  the  room  found  the  assembled  company  grouped  around  the 
table  singing  Gluck’s  chorus,  ‘The  God  of  Paphos,’  and  whose  astonishment 
and  enthusiasm  knew  no  bounds.  Reports  of  this  novel  entertainment  spread 
all  over  Paris,  and  accounts  of  what  was  denounced  as  Madame  Le  Brun’s 
lavish  expenditure  were  grossly  exaggerated.  Twenty  thousand  francs,  it  was 
said,  had  been  spent  upon  this  famous  Greek  supper;  from  twenty  thousand 
the  sum  grew  to  forty,  then  to  sixty,  and  finally  to  eighty  thousand.  “ In 
reality,”  writes  Madame  Le  Brun,  “the  supper  had  occasioned  an  outlay  of 
somewhat  less  than  fifteen  francs  ” (three  dollars). 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  Madame  Le  Brun  was  not  without  enemies, 
who,  jealous  of  her  beauty  and  success,  not  only  accused  her  of  extravagance, 
but  circulated  reports  detrimental  to  her  fame  and  honor,  coupling  her  name 
with  that  of  Monsieur  de  Calonne,  the  minister  of  finance,  whose  portrait  she 
had  painted  and  from  whom,  they  falsely  asserted,  she  sometimes  received 
sums  of  money  large  enough  to  ruin  the  treasury  of  France.  It  was  even  said 
that  the  fine  house  recently  built  by  Monsieur  Le  Brun  in  the  rue  du  Gros- 
Chenet  had  been  paid  for  by  the  minister. 

Such  calumnies  were  deeply  distressing  to  Madame  Le  Brun.  As  a matter 
of  fact,  her  indifference  to  the  luxuries  attainable  by  money  was  marked.  Her 
dress,  she  tells  us,  was  of  the  simplest;  except  on  state  occasions  she  was  habit- 
ually attired  in  white  muslin  or  lawn  dresses,  and  as  the  money  she  earned 

[112] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


29 


was  invariably  appropriated  by  her  husband,  it  often  transpired  that  she  had 
no  more  than  six  francs  which  she  could  call  her  own. 

Her  ‘Souvenirs’  record  a number  of  visits  which  she  paid  to  various  cha- 
teaux in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris,  her  hosts  being  the  Prince  de  Conde,  the 
Due  d’Orleans,  the  Comte  de  Vaudreuil,  the  Due  de  Nivernais,  Madame  du 
Barry,  and  many  other  equally  noted  personages.  While  staying  at  Louve- 
ciennes,  where  Madame  du  Barry  lived,  unmistakable  signs  of  the  approach- 
ing Revolution  made  themselves  felt.  The  news  from  Paris  became  more  and 
more  alarming,  and  when  Madame  Le  Brun,  filled  with  forebodings,  returned 
to  her  new  home  in  the  rue  Gros-Chenet  she  was  subjected  to  repeated  insults 
from  the  populace,  daily  becoming  more  desperate  and  unruly. 

Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  in  1789,  horrified  by  tbe  deeds  of  vio- 
lence enacted  daily  about  her,  and  terrified  for  the  safety  of  herself  and  her 
child,  she  resolved  to  leave  France  and  seek  refuge  in  Italy,  where  she  could 
pursue  her  art  unmolested.  Accordingly,  at  midnight  of  the  fifth  of  October 
of  that  ill-omened  year,  having  disguised  herself  in  the  rough  garb  of  a 
working  woman,  she  and  her  little  daughter,  accompanied  by  a governess, 
set  off  in  the  public  coach,  were  safely  conveyed  beyond  the  French  border, 
and,  after  passing  through  Switzerland,  arrived  in  Italy.  There  the  journey  be- 
came almost  a triumphal  progress;  everywhere  the  artist  went  the  most  flatter- 
ing welcome  was  accorded  her;  at  Bologna  she  was  elected  a member  of  the 
Academy  of  that  place,  at  Florence  she  was  asked  to  contribute  her  own  por- 
trait to  the  collection  of  artists’  portraits  in  the  Uflizi  Gallery,  and  at  Rome, 
where  she  was  made  a member  of  the  Academy,  the  academicians  presented 
her  with  the  palette  of  the  young  French  painter  Drouais,  who  had  lately  died, 
and  begged  that  in  exchange  she  would  allow  them  to  have  some  of  the  brushes 
with  which  she  was  accustomed  to  work.  The  most  distinguished  society  of 
Rome  opened  its  doors  to  her  and  the  most  eminent  people  made  her  welcome. 

At  the  end  of  a sojourn  of  nearly  eight  months  in  Rome  she  went  to  Naples, 
where  again  she  was  the  recipient  of  marked  attentions  from  people  high  in 
favor  at  court,  and  where  during  her  six  months’  stay  she  painted  portraits  of 
members  of  the  royal  family  and  of  many  well-known  people,  among  them 
the  beautiful  Lady  Hamilton,  whose  husband  was  at  that  time  British  ambas- 
sador at  Naples. 

After  leaving  Naples,  a short  stop  was  made  in  Rome  before  traveling  to 
Perugia,  Florence,  Siena,  Parma,  Mantua,  and  finally  to  Venice,  where  she 
spent  some  time  before  going  on  to  Verona,  Milan,  and  Turin.  From  there 
she  had  planned  to  return  to  France,  but  upon  learning  of  the  grievous  events 
which  had  taken  place  in  Paris,  and  finding  Turin  filled  with  French  refugees 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  country,  the  idea  of  returning  home  was  re- 
linquished and  Vienna  was  decided  upon  instead. 

In  that  city  Madame  Le  Brun  passed  two  years  and  a half,  receiving  flat- 
tering attention  wherever  she  went,  entering  into  the  gay  social  life  of  the  Aus- 
trian capital,  and  busying  herself  with  her  painting.  Her  stay  there  was  sad- 
dened by  the  news  received  from  Paris  of  the  tragic  fate  of  Louis  xvi.  and  of 
Marie  Antoinette,  as  well  as  of  many  of  her  friends  and  acquaintances  who 

[113] 


30 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


had  met  death  on  the  scaffold.  Return  to  France  was  now  not  to  be  thought 
of,  and,  desirous  of  adding  to  the  fortune  she  had  already  acquired  during  her 
absence,  Madame  Le  Brun  decided  to  go  to  Russia,  where  she  had  many 
friends.  Passing  through  Prague,  Dresden,  and  Berlin,  she  finally  reached 
St.  Petersburg  towards  the  end  of  July,  1795.  No  reception  could  have  been 
more  gratifying  than  that  accorded  her  upon  her  arrival  in  the  Russian  capital. 
A call  from  Count  Esterhazy,  the  French  ambassador,  preceded  her  presen- 
tation to  the  Empress  Catherine  ii.,  who  received  her  with  gracious  kindness 
and  ever  after  bestowed  upon  her  marks  of  favor  and  regard. 

Dinners  and  balls  and  entertainments  of  every  description  in  the  gay  city 
of  St.  Petersburg  followed  each  other  in  quick  succession,  until  one  wonders 
in  reading  the  vivid  account  given  in  the  ‘ Souvenirs  ’ how  time  could  have  been 
found  for  the  numerous  portraits  which  Madame  Le  Brun  executed  while  in 
Russia.  The  one  she  was  to  have  painted  of  Catherine  ii.  was  never  accom- 
plished, owing  to  the  death  of  the  Empress  in  1796,  but  of  the  Empress  Maria, 
wife  of  Catherirre’s  son  and  successor,  Paul  i.,  she  painted  in  the  following 
year  a full-length  portrait,  and  innumerable  titled  people,  men  and  women, 
sat  before  her  easel.  Finally,  the  honors  shown  her  were  crowned  by  her  elec- 
tion as  a member  of  the  Academy  of  Arts. 

In  the  midst  of  her  gay  and  brilliant  career  in  Russia  one  sorrow  darkened 
her  life;  that  was  the  marriage  of  her  dearly  loved  daughter,  then  seventeen 
years  old.  Wilful  by  nature  and  spoiled  by  her  mother’s  blind  and  idolizing 
affection,  the  young  girl  had  set  her  heart  upon  accepting  the  offer  of  marriage 
made  her  by  a certain  Monsieur  Nigris,  secretary  to  Count  Czernicheff,  a 
man  twice  her  age,  and  one  of  whom  her  mother  knew  enough  to  feel  con- 
vinced that  no  happiness  could  accrue  from  such  a union.  Her  veto,  however, 
was  withheld  provided  Monsieur  Le  Brun  would  give  his  consent,  and  until 
such  time  as  a letter  from  him  could  be  received  the  daughter  wounded  her 
mother  by  her  coldness  and  suspicions.  The  marriage  finally  took  place;  and 
to  Madame  Le  Brun’s  grief,  what  had  seemed  to  be  genuine  feeling  on  the 
part  of  the  young  bride  proved  a mere  passing  infatuation,  which  at  the  ex- 
piration of  a fortnight  came  to  an  end. 

Heart-sick  and  broken  in  health  by  her  anxiety,  Madame  Le  Brun  resolved 
to  leave  St.  Petersburg,  and  in  October,  1800,  she  took  up  her  residence  in 
Moscow,  where  she  spent  five  months.  At  the  end  of  that  period  she  had  grown 
so  sad  and  ailing  that  notwithstanding  the  entreaties  of  her  friends  and  the 
many  orders  for  portraits,  sufficient  in  number  to  keep  her  occupied  for  many 
months  to  come,  she  made  up  her  mind  to  return  to  her  own  country. 
Accordingly  she  journeyed  back  to  St.  Petersburg,  then  in  a tumult  of  excite- 
ment over  the  assassination  of  the  emperor,  Paul  i.,  bade  adieu  to  the  daughter 
who  was  still  estranged  from  her,  took  leave  of  her  many  friends,  and,  having 
had  a farewell  audience  of  the  new  emperor,  Alexander  i.,  and  his  empress, 
who  begged  her  to  reconsider  and  remain  in  Russia,  where  they  promised  that 
everything  possible  should  be  done  to  restore  her  health,  Madame  Le  Brun, 
touched  though  she  was  by  so  much  kindness,  reluctantly  left  the  land  where 
many  happy  years  had  been  spent. 


[114] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


31 


During  a short  stop  in  Berlin  she  met  with  the  utmost  consideration  from 
Queen  Luise  of  Prussia,  who  welcomed  her  at  Potsdam  and  of  whom  she 
made  two  portraits  in  pastel.  Before  her  departure  from  Berlin  she  was  in- 
formed by  the  director  of  the  Academy  of  Painting  there  that  she  had  been 
chosen  a member  of  that  body. 

In  the  summer  of  i8oi  Madame  Le  Brun  reached  Paris,  after  an  absence 
of  twelve  years.  Her  husband  still  occupied  the  house  in  the  rue  Gros-Chenet, 
and  on  the  occasion  of  his  wife’s  return,  elaborate  preparations  were  there 
made  to  receive  her.  The  staircase  was  lined  with  flowers,  costly  hangings  of 
green  and  gold  decorated  her  bedroom,  and  a crown  of  gold  stars  was  placed 
over  the  bed.  She  seems  to  have  been  in  nowayunappreciative  of  these  demon- 
strations, although  she  remarks,  not  without  a touch  of  bitterness,  that  she  her- 
self was  obliged  to  pay  for  them  with  her  own  earnings. 

Paris  had  undergone  many  changes  during  these  twelve  years.  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  as  First  Consul  now  held  sway  at  the  Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  and 
such  festivities  as  were  given  there  seemed  to  Madame  Le  Brun  dull  and 
conventional  compared  with  those  she  remembered  in  the  days  of  the  old 
regime.  “The  whole  city,  too,”  she  writes,  “presented  a far  less  lively  ap- 
pearance.” 

But  for  Madame  Le  Brun  herself,  pretty  and  charming  as  she  still  was  at 
forty-six,  the  same  gay  and  social  life  which  she  had  before  enjoyed,  and  was 
accustomed  to  lead  wherever  she  might  be,  was  at  once  resumed.  All  who 
were  left  of  her  old  friends  flocked  about  her,  and  on  the  first  occasion  of  her 
appearance  in  a concert-hall  where  the  Parisian  world  was  assembled,  every 
one  turned  in  her  direction  when  she  entered  and  heartily  applauded  the  pop- 
ular artist,  even  the  musicians  rapping  on  their  violins  with  their  bows. 

The  following  year  Madame  Le  Brun  made  a journey  to  England,  a coun- 
try she  had  long  wished  to  see.  Arrived  in  London,  she  was  the  object  of 
much  attention  from  the  prominent  people  of  the  day,  among  them  the  painter 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  As  usual,  her  brush  was  in  demand  and  her  working 
time  was  quickly  filled.  Some  jealousy  seems  to  have  been  aroused  among 
the  English  artists  when  it  was  learned  that  she  had  been  commissioned  to 
paint  the  Prince  of  Wales  (afterwards  George  iv.). 

Her  stay  in  England,  which  had  been  intended  to  last  but  a few  months,  had 
continued  for  nearly  three  years  when  news  reached  her  that  her  daughter  had 
arrived  in  Paris.  She  at  once  returned  home,  but  her  joy  in  again  seeing  her 
child  seems  sadly  enough  to  have  been  in  no  way  reciprocated  by  that  daughter, 
who  obstinately  refused  to  live  with  her  mother  and  insisted  upon  associating 
with  companions  whom  Madame  Le  Brun  could  not  admit  to  her  house. 

Only  one  more  journey  of  any  length  is  recorded  in  the  ‘Souvenirs.’  This 
was  to  Switzerland  in  1808-9,  where  she  painted  a number  of  landscapes,  and 
at  Coppet  made  a portrait  of  Madame  de  Stael.  It  was  after  her  Swiss  tour 
that,  “ having  at  length  acquired,”  she  says,  “ an  inclination  for  rest,”  she  pur- 
chased a country  seat  at  Louveciennes,  near  Paris,  which  became,  as  her 
house  in  Paris  had  been,  the  center  of  a highly  cultivated  and  brilliant  circle. 

[115] 


32 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Especially  was  this  the  case  when,  after  the  Napoleonic  rule,  the  Bourbons 
under  Louis  xviii.  came  once  more  into  power. 

In  1813  Monsieur  Le  Brun  died  — an  event  which  seems  to  have  caused  his 
wife  genuine  grief  in  spite  of  the  trials  to  which  he  had  subjected  her  during 
their  years  of  married  life.  “This  blow,  however,”  she  admits,  “was  far  less 
than  the  cruel  grief  experienced  at  the  death  of  my  daughter.  All  the  wrong- 
doings of  the  poor  little  thing  were  blotted  out,”  she  says;  “I  saw  her  as  in  the 
days  of  her  childhood — as  I still  see  her.  Alas!  she  was  so  young!  Why  did 
she  not  outlive  me  .?” 

This  was  in  1819.  In  the  following  year  Madame  Le  Brun’s  brother  also 
died,  and  thus  the  last  of  her  near  ties  was  severed.  She  herself  lived  on  until 
she  had  grown  to  be  an  old  woman.  To  the  end  she  took  pleasure  in  the  gay 
and  social  side  of  life,  to  the  end  she  worked  at  her  beloved  art.  Her  time  was 
divided  between  her  apartment  in  the  rue  Saint-Lazare  in  Paris  and  her  sum- 
mer home  at  Louveciennes.  Two  nieces,  Madame  de  Riviere,  the  daughter 
of  her  brother,  and  Eugenie  Le  Brun,  afterwards  Madame  Tripier  Le  Franc, 
a niece  of  Monsieur  Le  Brun,  were  devoted  in  their  care  of  her. 

On  March  30,  1842,  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  died  very  peacefully,  in  Paris, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-seven.  According  to  her  wish  she  was  buried  in  the  cem- 
etery at  Louveciennes. 


C1)E  art  of  Wiget  ilt  3Srun. 

ANDRE  MICHEL  JOUIN’S  ‘ C H E F S - D ’ CE  U V R E ’ 

IN  the  history  of  portrait-painting  in  France  there  is  a period  between  Nat- 
tier and  Gerard  which  may  he  said  to  belong  to  that  charming  woman 
Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun.  Boucher,  who  had  indeed  fallen  completely  from 
popular  favor,  was  dead,  the  nymphs  and  goddesses  of  Nattier  had  taken 
flight  to  their  faded  bowers  and  desolated  groves,  and  in  those  last  years  of 
what  is  known  as  the  “old  regime”  the  fashionable  world  of  Paris  adopted  for 
its  painter  Elisabeth  Vigee,  who  had  already  won  fame  for  herself  under  that 
name  when,  by  an  unfortunate  marriage,  she  became  Madame  Le  Brun. 

There  was  so  close,  so  intimate,  a connection  between  this  painter  and  her 
models  that  although  she  lived  well  into  the  nineteenth  century,  dying  as  re- 
cently as  1842,  she  yet  remains  in  the  history  of  French  art  the  portrait-painter 
par  excellence  of  the  court  of  Marie  Antoinette.  When,  upon  the  approach  of 
the  Revolution,  she  fled  from  France,  terrified  by  the  first  distant  rumblings 
of  that  reign  of  terror,  it  may  be  said  that  her  work  had  virtually  been  accom- 
plished; for  her  best,  her  really  significant,  portraits  all  belong  to  her  early 
years. 

If  we  would  catch  in  an  attitude  or  in  a look  the  moral  reflection,  so  to  speak 
of  an  epoch,  if  we  would  read  the  thoughts  or  divine  the  dreams  harbored  un- 
der the  elaborate  head-dresses  of  the  great  ladies  of  that  day,  or  would  guess 

[116] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


33 


the  secrets  of  those  hearts,  sometimes  full  of  tenderness,  again  light  and  flip- 
pant, concealed  beneath  transparent  muslin  fichus,  it  is  to  the  works  of 
Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  that  we  must  turn  for  answers  to  our  queries. 

The  extraordinary  vogue  which  the  painter  enjoyed  in  her  lifetime  has  to 
some  extent  continued,  so  that  her  fame  is  distinct  and  lasting,  but  it  would 
assuredly  be  but  a doubtful  tribute  to  her  memory  were  her  graceful  figure  to 
be  placed  upon  any  very  lofty  pedestal,  and  there  made  to  assume  any  sort  of 
imperious  or  magisterial  attitude.  Moreover,  to  apply  the  word  “ masterpiece  ” 
to  any  work  of  hers  would  be  to  make  too  free  a use  of  a word  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  which  has  been  somewhat  weakened  by  the  indiscriminate  way  in 
which  eloquent  chroniclers  have  applied  it.  Madame  Le  Brun  would  be  the 
first  to  admonish  us  not  to  speak  of  her  in  any  way  but  simply,  and  without 
undue  abuse  of  superlatives. 

To  the  artist  herself  it  was  a constant  source  of  regret  that  because  of  the 
overwhelming  number  of  orders  for  portraits  which  she  received,  in  a word, 
by  reason  of  her  very  success,  she  was  debarred  from  devoting  her  talents  to 
great  “historical  painting.”  Fortunately  for  her,  however,  as  well  as  for  us, 
she  remained  a portrait-painter  and  a woman.  Her  aspirations  for  the  “grand 
style”  did  not  carry  her  away  so  far  as  to  do  violence  to  her  natural  bent,  nor 
to  change  in  any  way  the  limpid  purity  of  her  gentle  and  graceful  talent.  Full 
of  tender  sentiment,  as  was  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  taste  of  the  age 
in  which  she  lived,  she  yet  never  descended  to  silly  sentimentality  or  flat  in- 
sipidity. “I  always  tried  so  far  as  it  lay  in  my  power,”  she  writes  in  her  ‘Sou- 
venirs,’ “to  give  to  the  women  whom  I painted  characteristic  attitudes  and  ex- 
pressions; those  who  had  no  special  individuality  I painted  in  nonchalantly 
pensive  positions.”  In  the  advice  which  she  gives  in  regard  to  the  painting 
of  portraits  she  says:  “ Before  beginning  a portrait,  engage  your  model  in  con- 
versation, try  several  different  poses,  and  finally  select  not  only  the  most  com- 
fortable and  natural,  but  the  one  that  best  suits  his  or  her  age  and  character; 
for  all  that  helps  to  make  the  likeness  better.  When  your  sitter  is  a woman,” 
she  naively  adds,  “you  should  compliment  her;  tell  her  that  she  is  beautiful; 
that  her  complexion  is  lovely,  etc.  This  puts  her  into  a good  humor,  and  en- 
ables her  to  pose  for  you  with  more  pleasure.”  . . . 

The  charm  and  beauty  with  which  in  her  secret  desire  to  please  her  models 
Madame  Le  Brun  invests  her  pictures  is  naturally  apparent  also  in  her  por- 
traits of  herself.  She  was  very  pretty,  and  in  her  old  age  she  used  to  recall 
with  an  amused  sort  of  complacency  the  days  when  a crowd  would  gather 
round  her  in  the  street  or  at  the  theater,  and  when  more  than  one  admirer  of 
her  beauty  would  go  to  her  to  have  his  portrait  painted,  “in  the  hope  of  suc- 
ceeding in  pleasing  her.” 

Neither  in  her  art  nor  in  her  nature  was  there  anything  morbid  about 
Madame  Le  Brun.  If  we  examine  the  portrait  which  she  has  left  us  of  her- 
self and  her  daughter  we  shall  find  something  more  than  light-hearted  hap- 
piness in  her  delicate  face;  beneath  and  beyond  all  that  there  are  the  marks 
of  courage.  Life  did  not  spare  her  its  sorrows  — sorrows  that  were  keenly 
felt.  She  was  as  unhappily  married  as  a woman  well  could  be,  but  she  kept 

[117] 


34 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


intact  that  treasure  of  sweet  temper  and  gay  spirits  which  we  see  in  her  laugh- 
ing eyes. 

She  was  devoted  to  her  art,  painting,  she  tells  us,  “with  fury;”  and  this  ab- 
sorbing passion  was  a refuge  and  a consolation  to  her  in  her  hours  of  tribula- 
tion. Moreover,  notwithstanding  her  sorrows,  she  had  a keen  love  of  life  and 
of  society  as  it  was  understood  and  enjoyed  in  France  before  the  terrible  year 
of  1789,  and  in  spite  of  her  hours  of  sadness  and  melancholy  she  delighted  in 
her  great  success  as  a woman  and  an  artist. — from  the  french 

CHARLES  BLANC  ‘HISTOIRE  DES  PEINTRES’ 

All  the  fairies  gathered  around  the  cradle  of  Elisabeth  Vigee  as  at  the 
^ birth  of  a little  princess  in  the  kingdom  of  art.  One  endowed  her  with 
beauty,  another  with  wit;  the  fairy  Grace  presented  her  with  a pencil  and  a 
palette.  It  is  true  that  the  fairy  Marriage,  who  had  not  been  invited,  told  her 
that  she  was  to  wed  Monsieur  Le  Brun,  the  connoisseur  in  pictures;  but  to 
comfort  her  the  fairy  Travel  promised  to  guide  her  from  court  to  court,  from 
academy  to  academy,  from  Paris  to  Rome,  to  St.  Petersburg  and  to  London, 
with  her  gaiety,  her  talents,  and  her  easel  before  which  all  the  sovereigns”  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  all  those  whom  genius  had  crowned,  should  pose  as  sub- 
jects for  her  brush.  . . . 

As  a painter  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  belongs  wholly  and  distinctly  to  the 
eighteenth  century;  that  is  to  say,  to  that  period  in  the  history  of  French  art 
which  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  termination  by  the  works  of  Louis  David.  So 
long  as  she  followed  the  counsels  of  Joseph  Vernqt  her  pencil  evinced  a certain 
suppleness  and  her  brush  a certain  force;  but  unfortunately  she  too  often 
sought — especially  was  this  the  case  in  her  later  works — to  imitate  Greuze, 
and  weakened  the  likeness  to  her  models  by  an  exaggerated  mistiness.  She  be- 
came the  fashion  so  early  in  her  life  that  she  was  debarred  from  any  thorough 
study,  and  she  was  too  frequently  satisfied  with  a clever  suggestiveness  in  her 
portraits. 

Without  estimating  her  so  leniently  as  she  was  in  her  own  day  estimated  by 
the  French  Academy,  we  nevertheless  must  needs  assign  Madame  Le  Brun  an 
honorable  place  in  the  history  of  painting  in  France;  for,  notwithstanding  revo- 
lutions and  reforms,  she  continued  to  pursue,  as  long  as  she  lived,  the  dainty 
and  delicate  art  of  Watteau,  of  Nattier,  and  of  Fragonard  — an  art  at  once 
graceful  and  intrinsically  French. — from  the  french 

R.  PINSET  AND  J.  D’AURIAC  ‘HISTOIRE  DU  PORTRAIT  EN  FRANCE’ 

Madame  vigee  le  brun  is  one  of  the  most  charming  painters  of 
the  French  school.  In  their  freshness,  their  life,  and  their  spirit,  her 
works  are  unsurpassed;  and  if  they  are  open  to  criticism  on  account  of  a cer- 
tain feminine  softness  and  delicacy,  the  flesh-tones,  by  way  of  compensation, 
are  of  undeniable  excellence.  Moreover,  in  all  the  accessories  of  her  portraits, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  attitudes  of  her  models,  her  skill  was  admirable.  She  pos- 
sessed, too,  one  rare  quality — a quality  characteristic  of  only  true  artists — 
and  that  is  universality;  in  other  words,  her  portraits  do  not  owe  their  beauty 

[118] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


3S 


to  the  fact  that  they  belong  to  any  one  special  period,  or  because  they  bear  the 
imprint  of  any  definite  epoch,  but  they  are  and  always  will  be  beautiful  be- 
cause of  the  universal  truth  they  express. 

The  great  French  Revolution  of  1789  was  destined  to  bring  about  changes, 
not  only  in  manners  and  in  laws,  but  also  in  art.  A new  class  of  people  nat- 
urally demands  a new  style  of  painting.  Above  all,  for  the  reformation,  the 
regeneration,  of  a school  with  whose  principles  the  new  order  of  things  finds 
fault,  a painter  is  needed  whose  intrepid  spirit  shall  prompt  him  to  boldly 
break  with  the  prevailing  tastes  and  traditions  of  the  day.  After  the  Revolu- 
tion it  was  plain  that  a new  school  was  about  to  come  into  being — all  that  was 
needed  was  a leader,  and  that  leader  was  found  in  Louis  David.  The  exquisite 
grace  of  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  was,  therefore,  the  last  expression  of  what 
may  be  called  eighteenth-century  painting  in  France.  — from  the  french 

LOUIS  BERNARD  ‘ C H E F S - D ’ CE  U V R E DE  PEINTURE  AU  MUSEE  DU  LOUVRE’ 

Madame  vigee  le  brun  painted  in  the  graceful  and  charming 
style  of  Watteau  and  of  Fragonard,  but  with  greater  sobriety  and  with 
a note  of  sincerity  that  was  exceptional  in  the  eighteenth-century  art  of 
France.  She  could  not,  however,  wholly  escape  those  mannerisms  character- 
istic of  the  century  which  gave  her  birth,  and  in  some  of  her  portraits  we  are 
conscious  of  a certain  artificiality.  All  her  life  she  vibrated,  so  to  speak,  be- 
tween the  method  of  painting  of  Jean-Baptiste  Regnault  and  that  of  Jean- 
Baptiste  Greuze — borrowing  from  the  one  his  ^uave  and  supple  touch,  his 
insipid  manner  of  softening,  and  from  the  other  the  exaggerated  roundness 
of  his  modeling. 

The  vogue  which  Madame  Le  Brun  acquired  upon  her  first  appearance,, 
and  which  she  always  retained,  the  adulation  accorded  her  as  a woman  even 
more  than  as  an  artist,  sadly  interfered  with  all  hard  study  in  the  rudiments 
of  her  profession,  and  caused  her  to  rely  for  her  success  entirely  upon  her  ex- 
ceeding facility.  — from  the  french 

SOPHIA  BEALE  ‘PORTFOLIO’  1891 

WITH  regard  to  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun’s  position  as  an  artist,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  work  left  behind  her  proves  her  to  have  been  equal  to 
most  of  her  contemporaries,  and  superior  to  many.  Gros  was  more  dramatic, 
Louis  David  had  more  force  and  vigor  in  his  touch,  and  Prud’hon  was  im- 
measurably above  her  in  his  subject-pictures — a line  in  which  Madame  Le 
Brun  never  shone;  but  she  is  vastly  superior  in  technique  and  bold  handling 
to  Hubert  Robert  or  Gerard,  and  there  is  an  elegance  and  grace  about  her 
portraits  which  is  eminently  womanly  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  Still, 
although  her  talent  was  considerable,  she  owed  a great  deal  of  her  success  to 
her  personality  and  her  industry,  for  she  had  the  love  of  work  and  the  per- 
severance without  which  even  genius  is  of  little  use.  . . . 

Madame  Le  Brun  was  not  a great  portraitist;  but  if  not  a Velasquez,  a 
Rembrandt,  or  a Rubens,  her  work  is  elegant  and  refined,  and  possesses  a 
charm  which  is  not  common.  “She  has  neither  the  force  nor  the  virility  of 

[119] 


36 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


some  of  the  great  painters  of  France,”  says  her  biographer,  M.  Charles  Fillet, 
“but  because  of  the  exquisite  delicacy  of  her  touch  she  is  one  of  the  most 
aimahle  painters  of  the  French  school.”  Aimable — that  little  French  word 
exactly  expresses  Madame  Le  Brun’s  position  in  the  great  army  of  portrait- 
painters. 


Che  l^orfes  of  ¥^igee  3Le  Bruit 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PLATES 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  MADAME  M O L E-R  A Y M O N D ’ PLATE  I 

The  Lady  with  the  Muff,’  as  this  celebrated  portrait  of  Madame  Mole- 
Raymond,  an  actress  of  the  ‘Comedie  Fran^aise,’  is  often  called,  is  one 
of  Madame  Le  Brun’s  most  popular  works.  The  composition  has  sometimes 
been  criticized  for  its  lack  of  repose,  but  in  the  dash  and  breeziness  of  the 
graceful  figure,  apparently  painted  as  in  the  act  of  running,  there  is  an  unde- 
niable charm. 

Madame  Mole-Raymond,  her  hands  hidden  in  a huge  brown  muff  which 
she  presses  against  her  breast,  wears  a bluish-lavender  dress  and  a blue  apron. 
A broad-brimmed  blue  hat  trimmed  with  a bow  of  ribbon  and  a feather  is 
jauntily  placed  upon  her  elaborately  curled  hair,  and  around  her  neck  is  a 
white  muslin  fichu,  with  long  ends  crossed  and  tied  at  the  back  of  her  waist. 

“The  painting,”  writes  Sir  Charles  Eastlake,  “is  admirable  in  execution, 
reminding  one  in  certain  qualities  of  Gainsborough,  but  more  finished  and 
even  in  impasto.” 

This  picture  was  painted  in  1786,  exhibited  at  the  Salon  in  the  following 
year,  and  bequeathed  in  1865,  by  Mademoiselle  Maurice  Raymond,  a daugh- 
ter of  the  lady  represented,  to  the  Louvre,  Paris,  where  it  now  hangs.  The 
figure  is  life-sized,  and  the  panel  on  which  it  is  painted  measures  about  three 
and  a half  feet  high  by  two  feet  four  inches  wide. 

‘MARIE  ANTOINETTE  AND  HER  CHILDREN’  PLATE  II 

The  most  celebrated  portrait  of  Marie  Antoinette  is  this  large  picture 
painted  by  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  in  1787,  in  which  the  queen  is  rep- 
resented with  her  children  seated  in  the  Palace  of  Versailles.  She  is  dressed  in 
a robe  of  red  velvet  trimmed  with  fur,  and  wears  an  elaborate  toque  of  the 
same  color  decorated  with  ostrich  plumes.  The  little  Due  de  Normandie,  then 
two  years  old,  is  on  his  mother’s  lap;  “Madame  Royale”  stands  at  the 
queen’s  side  tenderly  clasping  her  arm,  while  on  the  right  the  Dauphin  lifts 
the  curtain  of  an  empty  cradle,  generally  supposed  to  be  that  of  his  younger 
brother,  but  which  according  to  M.  de  Nolhac  belonged  to  a little  sister 
whose  death  occurred  at  about  the  time  of  the  painting  of  this  group. 

The  picture  was  finished  for  the  Salon  of  1788,  but  the  artist  had  many  mis- 
givings as  to  its  reception.  The  time  was  certainly  unpropitious  for  the  ex- 

[120] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


37 


hibition  of  a portrait  of  Marie  Antoinette,  whose  popularity  was  already  on 
the  wane,  and  who  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace  was  responsible  for  a large  part 
of  the  misery  of  France.  Madame  Le  Brun  has  related  how  even  the  frame  of 
her  large  picture,  having  been  sent  to  the  Salon  before  the  canvas,  evoked  a 
number  of  ill-natured  remarks.  “That ’s  the  way  the  money  is  spent,”  people 
said.  “Finally,”  she  writes,  “I  sent  in  my  picture,  but  could  not  muster  up 
courage  to  follow  it  and  find  out  what  its  fate  was  to  be,  so  fearful  was  I lest  it 
should  be  badly  received  by  the  public.  In  fact  I was  fairly  sick  with  fright. 
I shut  myself  in  my  room,  and  there  I was  praying  the  Lord  for  the  success  of 
my  royal  family  when  my  brother  and  a host  of  friends  burst  in  to  tell  me  that 
my  picture  had  met  with  universal  approbation. 

“After  the  close  of  the  Salon,  the  king  had  it  taken  to  Versailles,  and  there 
M.  d’Angivillers,  then  minister  of  the  Fine  Arts,  and  director  of  the  royal  es- 
tablishments, presented  me  to  His  Majesty,  who  was  good  enough  to  con- 
verse with  me  at  some  length,  and  to  say  that  he  was  much  pleased  with  my 
work.  Then  he  added,  looking  again  at  my  picture,  ‘I  do  not  know  much 
about  painting,  but  you  make  me  love  it! ’ 

“The  picture  was  placed  in  one  of  the  apartments  at  Versailles  through 
which  the  queen  always  passed  in  going  to  and  returning  from  mass.  After 
the  death  of  the  Dauphin,  early  in  1789,  the  picture  reminded  her  so  vividly 
of  her  cruel  loss  that  she  could  not  look  at  it  without  weeping.  She  therefore 
ordered  it  to  be  removed,  but  with  her  usual  thoughtful  kindness  she  at  once 
apprised  me  of  her  reason  for  doing  so.  It  is,  indeed,  to  the  queen’s  sensitive 
feeling  that  I owe  the  preservation  of  my  picture,  for  had  it  been  left  where  it 
was  the  bandits  and  fishwives  who  soon  afterwards  marched  to  Versailles  in 
search  of  the  king  and  queen  would  certainly  have  destroyed  it.” 

After  her  return  from  Russia,  Madame  Le  Brun  relates  how  she  went  one 
morning  to  Versailles  to  see  her  picture.  It  had  been  banished  to  a corner  of 
the  palace,  and  was  placed  with  its  face  against  the  wall.  She  was  told  that 
Napoleon,  hearing  that  many  people  went  to  Versailles  on  purpose  to  see  the 
painting,  had  given  orders  for  its  removal — orders  which  apparently  were  not 
strictly  carried  out,  as  the  custodian  continued  to  show  the  picture  and  by  so 
doing  had  gained  so  much  money  that  he  refused  to  accept  any  gratuity  from 
Madame  Le  Brun,  declaring  that  owing  to  her  he  had  already  earned  enough. 

This  painting  now  hangs  in  the  Palace  of  Versailles.  It  measures  about 
eight  feet  long  by  seven  feet  wide. 

‘PORTRAITOFTHECOMTEDEVAUDREUIL’  PLATEIII 

JOSEPH  FRANCOIS  DE  PAULE,  Comte  de  Vaudreuil,  is  described  by 
Madame  Le  Brun,  who  knew  him  well,  as  distinguished  in  appearance, 
courteous,  witty,  and  gifted  with  infinite  tact.  A lover  and  connoisseur  of  art, 
his  wealth  enabled  him  to  indulge  his  taste  for  the  works  of  the  great  mas- 
ters, of  which  he  possessed  a valuable  collection. 

De  Vaudreuil  was  high  in  favor  at  court  and  many  honors  were  conferred 
upon  him.  He  was  made  grand  falconer,  given  command  of  the  citadel  of 
Lille,  and  created  a member  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost — the  highest 

[121] 


38 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


order  of  chivalry  under  the  Bourbons.  Upon  the  downfall  of  that  house  he 
sought  refuge  in  England,  but  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration  returned  to 
France,  where  he  was  made  a peer  of  the  realm  and  appointed  governor  of  the 
Louvre,  a position  he  held  until  his  death  in  1817. 

Madame  Le  Brun’s  portrait  of  the  Comte  de  Vaudreuil,  here  reproduced, 
shows  him  at  the  age  of  forty-four,  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  power. 
He  wears  a richly  embroidered  coat,  and  across  his  breast  the  sky-blue  watered 
ribbon,  the  cordon  bleu,  insignia  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  picture  is  in  a private  collection  in  Paris. 

‘MADAME  VIGEE  LE  BRUN  AND  HER  DAUGHTER’  PLATE  IV 

The  most  popular,  and  in  many  respects  the  most  beautiful,  of  Madame 
Le  Brun’s  numerous  portraits  of  herself  is  this  picture,  now  in  the  Louvre. 
It  was  first  exhibited  at  the  Salon  of  1789,  and  was  presented  by  the  artist  to 
Monsieur  d’Angivillers,  minister  of  the  Fine  Arts. 

Madame  Le  Brun  has  here  represented  herself  in  a gown  of  white  muslin 
with  a red  scarf  tied  around  her  waist.  Her  brown  hair,  arranged  in  curls  in 
front  and  knotted  on  the  top  of  her  head,  is  bound  with  a band  of  red  ribbon, 
and  a green  mantle  is  draped  about  the  lower  part  of  her  figure.  Her  little 
daughter,  whom  she  clasps  in  her  embrace,  and  who  in  turn  has  thrown  her 
arm  about  her  mother’s  neck,  is  dressed  in  blue. 

“In  this  picture,”  writes  M.  Charles  Fillet,  “Madame  Le  Brun’s  face  is 
expressive  of  happiness  and  maternal  pride.  The  arm  placed  about  her  child 
is  delicately  and  skilfully  modeled,  and  its  roundness  is  admirably  shown 
against  the  slightly  bluish  tone  of  her  white  muslin  gown.  The  sprightly  air 
of  the  little  girl,  and  the  manner  in  which  she  presses  closely  against  her  mother 
in  quick  response  to  the  loving  embrace,  are  exquisitely  natural.  The  general 
tone  of  the  painting  is  harmonious,  and  the  picture  is  one  of  Madame  LeBrun’s 
finest  achievements  in  portraiture.” 

The  panel  measures  a little  over  four  feet  high  by  about  three  feet  wide. 

‘PORTRAITOFHUBERTROBERT’  PLATEV 

This  portrait  of  the  French  landscape-painter  Hubert  Robert  was  painted 
in  1788,  the  year  before  Madame  Le  Brun  left  Paris  for  Italy.  He  is  rep- 
resented with  one  hand  resting  on  a stone  parapet,  while  in  the  other  he  holds 
his  palette  and  brushes.  His  coat  is  lavender,  with  a collar  of  red  velvet,  his 
waistcoat  is  yellow,  and  a white  neck-cloth  is  carelessly  tied  about  his  throat. 
M.  Charles  Pillet  commends  the  naturalness  of  the  pose  and  the  simplicity  of 
the  composition.  “The  manner  in  which  it  is  painted,”  he  writes,  “is  supple, 
the  touch  broad  and  free;  the  contrasts  are  well  rendered  and  the  colors  har- 
monious. The  portrait  belongs  to  the  best  period  of  Madame  Le  Brun’s  art, 
and  has  none  of  that  hardness  sometimes  perceptible  in  her  later  works.” 
Hubert  Robert  was  born  in  1733.  He  was  therefore  fifty-five  years  of  age 
when  Madame  Le  Brun  painted  this  portrait.  “Of  all  the  artists  of  my  ac- 
quaintance,” she  says,  “Hubert  Robert  was  by  far  the  most  versatile.  Fond 
of  every  kind  of  pleasure,  not  excepting  that  of  the  table,  he  was  always  in  such 

[122] 


VIGEE  LE  BRUN 


39 


demand  that  I do  not  believe  he  dined  at  home  three  times  a year.  Theaters, 
balls,  dinners,  concerts,  garden-parties — he  went  everywhere  that  he  was  in- 
vited, and  spent  all  the  time  that  was  not  occupied  with  his  painting  in  amusing 
himself.  He  was  witty,  well  informed  without  being  in  the  least  pedantic,  al- 
ways in  good  spirits,  and  the  most  amiable  man  imaginable.” 

Robert’s  vogue  as  a painter  was  in  his  lifetime  very  great.  His  facility  was 
amazing;  it  was  said  that  he  could  paint  a picture  as  quickly  as  he  could  write 
a letter.  As  a consequence  his  works,  some  twenty  of  which  are  now  in  the 
Louvre,  are  very  numerous. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  MADAME  VIGEE  LEBRUN’  PLATE  \ I 

WHEN  in  Florence  in  1789,  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  was  asked  to  paint 
a portrait  of  herself  for  the  collection  of  artists’  portraits  in  the  Uffizi 
Gallery  in  that  city.  Her  promise  to  comply  wdth  this  request,  an  honor  she 
duly  appreciated,  was  fulfilled  soon  after  her  arrival  in  Rome,  where  her  first 
work  was  the  well-known  portrait  here  reproduced. 

Madame  Le  Brun,  who  was  then  thirty-four  years  old,  has  represented  her- 
self as  seated  before  an  easel,  palette  and  brushes  in  hand,  engaged  in  tracing 
in  white  chalk  upon  her  canvas  the  features  of  Queen  Marie  Antoinette.  The 
artist’s  dress  is  black,  and  she  wears  a red  sash  falling  in  long  ends  behind. 

The  portrait  is  painted  on  canvas,  and  measures  three  feet  three  inches  high 
by  two  feet  eight  inches  wide.  It  is  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence. 

‘PORTRAIT  OFTHE  MARQUISE  DEJAUCOURT’  PLATE  VII 

NO  subject  could  have  been  more  congenial  to  Madame  Le  Brun’s  grace- 
ful brush  than  was  the  beautiful  Marquise  de  Jaucourt  whom  the  artist 
has  here  represented  dressed  in  a simple  muslin  gown  with  a lace-edged  fichu 
about  her  shoulders  and  a ribbon  sash  tied  around  her  waist.  Her  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  trimmed  with  loops  of  ribbon,  is  slightly  tilted  upon  her  dark 
curls,  which  enframe  a delicately  modeled  face  with  large  brown  eyes  and  a 
charmingly  childlike  expression. 

Perhaps  no  other  portrait  by  Madame  Le  Brun  better  exemplifies  her  taste 
in  costume,  and  skill  in  posing  her  model.  It  offers  an  instance  of  what  Lady 
Dilke  has  called  her  “ingenious  eye-catching  arrangements,  which,”  that 
critic  says,  “gave  to  her  clever  pencil  a charm  that  induces  us  to  pardon  the 
somewhat  superficial  character  of  her  intelligence  and  her  art.” 

The  picture  is  owned  by  the  Marquis  de  Jaucourt,  Paris. 

‘PORTRAITOFMARIEANTOINETTE’  PLATE  VIII 

Madame  vigee  le  brun  painted  between  twenty  and  thirty  por- 
traits of  Marie  Antoinette,  of  which  one  of  the  most  charming  is  this 
picture  in  the  Palace  of  Versailles,  where  the  queen  is  represented  in  a garden 
tying  up  a bouquet  of  flowers.  Her  dress  is  of  gray  taffeta  trimmed  with 
delicate  lace,  she  wears  a hat  of  gauze  decorated  with  ostrich  plumes,  while 
around  her  throat  and  wrists  are  strings  of  pearls. 

Madame  Le  Brun  describes  Marie  Antoinette  as  “tall  and  with  a fine  fig- 

1123] 


40 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


ure.”  “Her  arms,”  she  says,  “were  superb,  her  hands  small  and  perfectly 
formed,  and  her  feet  charming.  She  had  the  best  walk  of  any  woman  in  France, 
carrying  her  head  erect  and  with  a dignity  that  stamped  her  queen  in  the  midst 
of  her  whole  court;  and  yet  this  majestic  mien  in  no  wise  diminished  the  sweet- 
ness and  gentleness  of  her  expression.  Her  features  were  not  regular;  she  had 
inherited  the  long  and  narrow  oval  peculiar  to  the  Austrian  race;  her  eyes, 
almost  blue  in  color,  were  rather  small;  her  nose  was  delicate  and  pretty,  and 
her  mouth  not  too  large,  although  her  lips  were  somewhat  thick.  But  the 
most  remarkable  thing  about  her  face  was  her  brilliant  complexion.  I have 
never  seen  any  so  dazzling.  ” 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  all  Madame  Le  Brun’s  portraits  of 
Marie  Antoinette  were  decidedly  flattering  as  likenesses,  so  that  although,  as 
M.  de  Nolhac  has  said,  they  will  always  remain  the  most  charming  present- 
ments of  that  queen,  they  are  by  no  means  the  most  truthful. 

The  picture  here  reproduced  measures  about  three  and  a half  feet  long  by 
nearly  three  feet  wide. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  STANISLAUS  AUGUSTUS  PONIATOWSKI’  PLATE  IX 

A MONO  Madame  Le  Brun’s  distinguished  friends  in  Russia  was  Stanis- 
laus  Augustus  Poniatowski,  the  last  king  of  Poland,  who,  after  the  down- 
fall of  his  kingdom,  took  up  his  residence  in  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  lived  as 
a private  gentleman.  Kindly  by  nature,  courteous  and  considerate,  a delight- 
ful conversationalist  and  a charming  and  most  genial  host,  he  was  beloved  by 
all  who  knew  him.  As  to  his  personal  appearance,  “he  was,”  writes  Madame 
Le  Brun,  “very  tall  and  handsome.  His  face  expressed  gentleness  and  affa- 
bility; his  carriage  was  erect;  his  bearing  dignified;  and  he  was  wholly  without 
affectation.  His  kindness  was  most  unusual.  I remember  an  instance  that 
makes  me  feel  ashamed  of  myself  whenever  I think  of  it.  When  I am  painting 
I refuse  to  see  any  one  in  the  world  except  my  model — a custom  which  has 
more  than  once  caused  me  to  be  very  rude  to  people  who  have  Interrupted  me 
in  my  work.  One  morning,  just  as  I was  finishing  a portrait,  I heard  the  noise 
of  horses  at  my  door,  and  instantly  guessed  that  it  was  the  King  of  Poland  who 
had  come  to  see  me;  but  I was  so  interested  in  my  work  that  I lost  my  temper 
and  cried  out  as  he  opened  the  door,  ‘ I am  not  at  home!  ’ Without  a word  the 
king  put  his  cloak  on  again  and  went  away.  When  I had  laid  down  my  palette, 
and  in  cold  blood  thought  over  what  I had  done,  I was  so  repentant  that  that 
same  evening  I betook  myself  to  the  house  of  the  King  of  Poland  to  apologize, 
and  to  beg  forgiveness.  ‘What  a reception  you  gave  me  this  morning!’  he  ex- 
claimed as  soon  as  he  saw  me,  and  then  immediately  added,  ‘I  understand 
perfectly  how  trying  it  must  be  to  a busy  artist  to  be  interrupted  while  at 
work,  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  I am  not  in  the  least  angry  with  you.’ 
He  then  insisted  on  my  remaining  to  supper,  and  no  further  allusion  was  made 
to  my  misbehavior.” 

Of  the  two  portraits  which  Madame  Le  Brun  painted  of  Poland’s  last  king, 
the  earlier,  now  in  the  Louvre,  Paris,  is  reproduced  in  plate  ix.  His  hair  is 
powdered  and  he  wears  a mantle  of  red  velvet  richly  trimmed  with  ermine. 

[124] 


VIGEE  LE  BRU  N 


41 


The  painting  has  a distinction  and  a greater  force  and  brilliancy  than  are 
usually  to  be  found  in  the  artist’s  work. 

The  oval  canvas  measures  about  three  feet  three  inches  high  by  two  feet 
eight  inches  wide. 

O 

‘PEACEBRINGINGPLENTY’  PLATE. X 

‘ TJEACE  bringing  Plenty’ was  painted  by  Madame  Le  Brun  for  her  recep- 
X tion  picture,  when,  in  May,  1783,  she  was  made  a member  of  the  Erench 
Academy  of  Painting.  It  was  exhibited  at  the  Salon  in  that  same  year  and  is 
now  in  the  Louvre,  Paris. 

‘Plenty,’  her  blond  hair  decorated  with  flowers  and  sheaves  of  wheat,  and 
holding  a cornucopia  filled  with  fruit,  was  painted  from  Mademoiselle  Lucie 
Hall,  daughter  of  a Swedish  miniature-painter  then  resident  in  Paris,  while 
Mademoiselle  Adele,  her  sister,  was  the  model  for  ‘ Peace,’  with  a crown  of 
laurel  in  her  dark  locks  and  a branch  of  the  same  symbolic  tree  in  her  hand. 

The  composition  is  wholly  in  accordance  with  the  art  traditions  of  that  pe- 
riod, and  while  possessing  a certain  grace  is  inferior  to  most  of  Madame  Le 
Brun’s  work  in  portraiture.  The  canvas  measures  about  three  and  a half  feet 
high  by  four  feet  three  inches  wide. 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PAINTINGS  BY  MADAME  VIGEE  LE  BRUN 
IN  PUBLIC  COLLECTIONS 

Madame  VIGEE  le  brun  painted  at  least  six  hundred  and  sixty  portraits,  fif- 
teen subject-pictures,  and  about  two  hundred  landscapes.  A chronological,  though 
not  an  altogether  complete,  list  of  her  works  will  be  found  in  the  last  volume  of  her  ‘Sou- 
venirs.’ The  greater  number  of  her  works  are  in  private  possession.  The  following  list 
includes  the  most  important  of  the  com])aratively  few  examples  of  her  art  contained  in  col- 
lections accessible  to  the  public. 

England.  London,  National  Gallery;  Portrait  of  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  — 
London,  Wallace  Collection;  Portrait  of  a Boy;  Portrait  of  Madame  Perregaux 
— FRANCE.  Chantilly,  Conde  Museum;  Portrait  of  Maria  Theresa,  Empress  of 
Austria;  Portrait  of  Marie  Caroline,  Queen  of  Naples;  Portrait  of  Marie  Louise  Joseph- 
ine, Queen  of  Etruria  — Montpellier,  Museum  ; Portrait  of  Princess  Marie  of  Russia 
— Paris,  Czartoryski  Gallery:  Portrait  of  Princess  Isabella  Czartoryski  — Paris, 
Louvre:  Peace  Bringing  Plenty  (Plate  x);  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  and  her  Daughter 
(Plate  iv);  Portrait  of  Paesiello;  Portrait  of  Hubert  Robert  (Plate  v) ; Portrait  of  Joseph 
Vernet;  Portrait  of  Madame  Mole-Raymond  (Plate  i);  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  and  her 
Daughter;  Portrait  of  Stanislaus  Augustus  Poniatowski  (Plate  ix) — Rouen,  Museum; 
Portrait  of  Madame  Grassini — Toulouse,  Museum:  Portrait  of  Madame  de  Crussol  — 
Versailles,  Palace:  Marie  Antoinette  and  her  Children  (Plate  11);  The  Dauphin  and 
Madame  Royale;  Portrait  of  Marie  Antoinette  (Plate  viii);  Portrait  of  Marie  Antoinette 
with  a Book;  Portrait  of  Marie  Antoinette  with  a Rose;  Portrait  of  the  Duchesse  d’ Orleans; 
Portrait  of  the  Queen  of  Naples  with  her  Daughter;  Portrait  of  Gretry;  Portrait  of  Jean 
de  la  Bruyere;  Portrait  of  Andre  Hercule  de  Fleury  — Versailles,  Petit  Trianon: 
Portrait  of  Marie  Antoinette  with  a Rose  — ITALY.  Bologna  Gallery:  Portrait  of 
Mademoiselle  Le  Brun  — Florence,  Uffizi  Gallery:  Portrait  of  Madame  Vigee  Le 
Brun  (Plate  vi) — Rome,  Academy  of  St.  Luke:  Portrait  of  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun 
(Page  22)  — RUSSIA.  St.  Petersburg,  Gallery  of  Prince  Youssoupoff:  Madame 
Catalini  Singing — SPAIN.  Madrid,  The  Prado:  Portrait  of  Marie  Caroline,  Queen 
of  Naples;  Portrait  of  Princess  Christine  of  Naples. 

[12.-.] 


42 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


l^tgee  3Srun  BStijliograplip 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  BOOKS  AND  MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 
DEALING  WITH  MADAME  VIGEE  LE  BRUN 

The  chief  source  of  information  concerning  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  is  her  ‘ Souvenirs,’ 
first  published  in  Paris  in  1835-37.  Several  English  translations  of  this  entertaining 
book  have  appeared  from  time  to  time. 

Bernard,  L.  chefs-d’oeuvre  de  peinture  au  Musee  du  Louvre.  Paris,  1878  — 

Blanc,  C.  Histoire  des  peintres  de  toutes  les  ecoles:  ecole  fran9aise.  Paris,  1865  — 

Clements,  C.  E.  Women  in  the  Fine  Arts.  Boston,  1904  — Dayot,  A.  L’lmage  de 
la  femme.  [Paris]  1899 — Durozoir,  C.  Marie-Louise-Elisabeth  Vigee-Lebrun  (in 
Michaud’s  Biographie  universelle).  Paris,  i843-[i865]  — Ellet,  E.  F.  Women  Artists 
in  all  Ages  and  Countries.  London,  i860  — Fidiere,  O.  Les  Femmes  artistes  a I’Acad- 
emie  Royale  de  peinture  et  de  sculpture.  Paris,  1885 — Gosselin,  T.  Histoire  anec- 
dotique  des  salons  de  peinture  depuis  1673.  Paris,  1881  — Gruyer,  F.  A.  La  Peinture 
au  Chateau  de  Chantilly.  Paris,  1898  — Gghl,  E.  C.  Die  Frauen  in  der  Kunst- 

geschichte.  Berlin,  1858  — Kingsley,  R.  G.  A History  of  French  Art.  London, 

1899 — Larousse,  P.  a.  Marie-Anne-Elisabeth  Vigee-Lebrun  (in  Grand  dictionnaire 
universel).  Paris,  1866-90 — Le  Brun,  J.B.  P.  Precis  historique  de  la  vie  citoyenne  Le 
Brun,  peintre.  Paris  [1794]  — Le  Brun,  Madame  L.  E.  Souvenirs  de  ma  vie.  Paris, 
*^3S'37  — Mantz,  P.  Madame  Vigee-Lebrun  (in  Armengaud’s  Les  Reines  du  monde). 
Paris,  1862 — Merson,  O.  La  Peinture  frangaise  au  XVID  siecle  et  au  XVIII'.  Paris, 
[1900]  — Michel,  A.  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun  (in  Jouin’s  Chefs-d’oeuvre).  Paris,  1895 
— Muther,  R.  History  of  Modern  Painting.  New  York,  1896 — Nolhac,  P.  de. 
Marie  Antoinette  et  ses  enfants  (in  Jouin’s  Chefs-d’oeuvre).  Paris,  1897-98 — Nolhac. 
P.  DE  AND  Perate,  A.  Le  Musee  National  de  Versailles.  Paris,  1896 — Pillet,  C 
Madame  Vigee-Le  Brun.  Paris  [1890]  — Pinset,  R.,  and  d’Auriac,  J.  Histoire  du 
portrait  en  France.  Paris,  1884  — Proces-verbaux  de  I’Academie  Royale  de  peinture 
et  de  sculpture.  Vol.  9.  Paris,  1889 — Roberts,  M.  Women  of  the  Last  Days  of  Old 
France.  London,  1872 — Selden,  C.  Portraits  de  femmes.  Paris,  1877  — Stranahan, 
C.  H.  A History  of  French  Painting.  New  York,  1888  — Tallentyre,  S.  G.  The 
Women  of  the  Salons.  London, 1901  — Vachon,  M.  La  Femme  dans  Part.  Paris,i893. 

magazine  articles 

Argosy,  1896:  Isabella  Fyvie  Mayoj  A Genius  and  a Beauty  — Munsey’s  Maga- 
^ZINE,  1897:  Anonymous;  Famous  Portrait  Painters  — Portfolio,  1891:  Sophia 
Beale;  Elizabeth  Louise  Vigee-Le  Brun. 


[126] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


XIV  LESSONS 

Guided  by  a Topic  Book. 

^ 1 'HE  cultivated  American  should  become 
A acquainted  with  the  art  of  his  own  country. 
This  can  be  done  in  your  own  home,  satisfac- 
torily and  practically,  by  joining 

€luti 

WITH  TOPIC  BOOK  No.  VI. 

Subject  of  first  lesson:  “Artistic  Resources  of 
Our  Country.”  This  alone  is  worth  knowing. 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

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6 dozen  4x5  Raphael  Prints  give  further  light. 

16  dozen  miniature  size  add  further  examples  of 
beauty. 

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ted Booklet  of  The  Traveler’s  Art  Club,  free. 

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& 1 these  portable  reflectors  to  advantage. 

M 1 The  fact  that  so  many  have  ordered 

II  \ these  outfits  for  their  friends  is  proof 

■ 1 that  their  merits  are  appreciated. 

H 1 Height,  closed,  51  inches ; extended,  81 

■ 1 inches.  The  light  from  the  reflector  can 

■ 1 be  directed  at  any  picture  in  the  room 

1 1 and  at  any  angle. 

■ Frink’sPortablePictureReflector 

^ with  Telescope  Standard 

I||V  No.  7034,  brass,  polished  or  antique, 

with  plug  and  socket  for  electric 

■ lamp $27.50 

1 No.  7035,  black  iron,  with  plug  and 

1 socket  for  electric  lamp  . . $16.50 

B These  special  Reflectors  are  used  by 

H all  the  picture-dealers  in  New  York,  and 

H by  private  collectors  not  only  in  this 

n country,  but  in  Paris,  London,  Berlin, 

uiTT^Tin  other  cities.  When  ordering,  kindly 

mention  the  system  of  electricity  used. 
Satisfaction  guaranteed.  Parties  order- 
ing  these  Reflectors  need  not  hesitate 
Nos.  7034,  7035  to  return  them  at  our  expense  if  not 
Pat.  Dec.  14,  ’97  found  satisfactory. 

THE  CHAFFEE  STUDIO 

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